Added: Paddle Shifts on my Skoda Octavia 1.8 TSi

This is a discussion on Added: Paddle Shifts on my Skoda Octavia 1.8 TSi within Modifications & Accessories, part of the Under the Hood category; My Ownership Thread : Link
A little something dropped into Arush's (Autopsyche) mailbox on saturday.
I have been a fan ...

A little something dropped into Arush's (Autopsyche) mailbox on saturday.

I have been a fan of the paddle shifts right from 2006 when I first drove the Honda Civic Automatic. It added sportiness to the car. At all times I have driven friend's or family's Civic Automatic, I have always used the Paddle Shift Mode rather than the Automatic Mode.

Though I haven't driven much around with the Flappy paddles, but my love for them never dropped.

Last year, I bought my 1st Automatic Tranny car i.e. The Hyundai Elantra but the car did not offer the Flappy Paddles even as an option. I was dejected.

Come April 2014, I got my 2nd Automatic Car ie the Neeli Pari but again, no paddle shifts ( though I feel they should have been provided by Skoda for the price that they charge.)

This time around though, I had an option. I saw many people talking about VAGTUNE offering multi function steering wheels with paddle shifts for polo and the likes.

One fine day, I contacted him to check if he has the steering wheel for the Octavia. He told me that there is a steering wheel available however he did not have one in stock. He promised me to revert back when he has one in stock. He also advised me that the install was possible at Autopsyche. Since I knew Arush for some years now, I asked him to order 1 piece for me and so he did.

This mid-week, Sugesh (VAGTUNE) sent me a copy of the tracking number of the shipment.

On saturday, 17th May, Arush contacted me about the arrival of the same and it was decided to get the install done on Tuesday 20th May since I was busy on Sunday and monday.

However , as it turned out, Autopsyche was closed on tuesday so I sent my car today itself.

A 30 min job and Arush was kind enough to click some pictures for me of the install.

I'll not bore you guys more and let the pics do the talking.

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The Beauty ( Paddle shifts seen here)

vRS badging and 3 spoke steering compared to the 5 spoke which is originally fitted.

vRS badging again.

Steering Controls and Flappy Paddles poking out.

Original Steering being dismantled.

Airbag Assembly being detached.

Airbag Assembly removed. Also a comparo of the original and the new steering.

The original steering being removed.

The original steering removed.

The new steering being fitted.

The new steering being tightened to its new home..

Steering assembly being connected.

The Gorgeous Steering.

Last edited by GTO : 20th May 2014 at 14:42.
Reason: Copied your paddle shift post to a new thread :)

The new steering looks very nice, and it's using the same airbag system in the original steering. That's really cool. I'm sure VAGTUNE has already received lots of enquiries already. Thanks for sharing. Very informative with clear pics, too.

Copied the post from your ownership thread to a new one. It'll help a lot of folk looking at paddle shifters.

Thanks . I hope it helps people looking for multi function steering wheels with paddle shifters not only for the Octavia but other Skoda's and VW's as well.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KSH7777

That's indeed a great steering wheel you have installed there

If you don't mind, Can you share the $$$ you incurred for installing the same ?

Thanks !

It costed me 60000 including the install and everything.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turbo Head

Wonderful upgrade, the new steering seems not only functional but meatier and much better looking as well.

Very much interested in knowing what all electronic changes have been carried out and your experience with the paddle shifter.

No electronic changes have been done. It is a simple plug and play steering. The paddle shifter steering is internationally available on the vRS and the ECU requires no extra coding as the coding for the same is already embedded in the ECU.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe M

The new steering looks very nice, and it's using the same airbag system in the original steering. That's really cool. I'm sure VAGTUNE has already received lots of enquiries already. Thanks for sharing. Very informative with clear pics, too.

Glad you like it. The best part is no wires or electronics have to be altered for this work. Hence, warranty is not affected.

I hope it helps people looking for multi function steering wheels with paddle shifters not only for the Octavia but other Skoda's and VW's as well.

It costed me 60000 including the install and everything.

No electronic changes have been done. It is a simple plug and play steering. The paddle shifter steering is internationally available on the vRS and the ECU requires no extra coding as the coding for the same is already embedded in the ECU.

Glad you like it. The best part is no wires or electronics have to be altered for this work. Hence, warranty is not affected.

That's Amazing, I couldn't believe this can be so simple. I was always scared that it would require highly skilled manpower, ECM recoding and very complicated wiring. Best part is your warranty is also intact

Wow. I still find it hard to believe that it is so easy. Do update the thread with your usage experience.

I hope someone at Skoda is reading this. There is no reason why they (and other manufacturers) cannot provide these as optionals. They need to wake up to the fact that the customer is now more discerning and knows exactly what he wants.

You could probably sell off your original steering wheel for a handsome amount & bring down the upgrade cost.

I doubt i will be able to do that considering the fact that even the ambition variant in the Octavia comes with Multi Function Steering Wheel. Still, any pointers or any takers you know of?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turbo Head

That's Amazing, I couldn't believe this can be so simple. I was always scared that it would require highly skilled manpower, ECM recoding and very complicated wiring. Best part is your warranty is also intact

Even I was scared before this experience. I had asked the same question to Arush again and again and his answer always was " This is probably the easiest thing to install"

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheLizardKing

Wow. I still find it hard to believe that it is so easy. Do update the thread with your usage experience.

I hope someone at Skoda is reading this. There is no reason why they (and other manufacturers) cannot provide these as optionals. They need to wake up to the fact that the customer is now more discerning and knows exactly what he wants.

I shall update the thread tonight after I drive it.

I too hope that the companies start giving such goodies as standard atleast in a car close to 20 lakh.

One great mod, and a good product: and airbag from the stock steering can be used. Paddle shifters are really cool and they look well integrated into the new steering. IMHO the red stitching on the new wheel looks a little cheesy(purely a personal opinion).

That's a great mod, something needed with the DSG. Was absolutely no coding done through VCDS?

Also 66k seems a bit much to me considering the same wheel is available for 300 Euros abroad.

No coding required whatsoever.

It was 60k including shipping and installation.

It was available from superskoda for about 450 Euros including shipping ie Close to 36000. Customs extra. I did not want to get into the hassle of all that, plus any problem can be rectified at VAGTUNE / Autopsyche's end. For me, paying the extra buck was acceptable for peace of mind.

Quote:

Originally Posted by D4D

One great mod, and a good product: and airbag from the stock steering can be used. Paddle shifters are really cool and they look well integrated into the new steering. IMHO the red stitching on the new wheel looks a little cheesy(purely a personal opinion).

I would have preferred a Blue Stitching for obvious reasons however I am OK with the red also since that was the only one available.

Congratulations @abhinav.gupta88!
I would have never guessed that it was this simple a task!
This makes me wonder, would a VW Jetta or an Audi A4 steering work (I think both offer paddle shifts) considering they share many parts?
Enjoy your ride!